Rapanea crassifolia
(R. Br.) Mez.
Meise Botanic Garden
Meise Botanic Garden
Meise Botanic Garden
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds
The fruit and seeds are eaten.
Where to Find It
It grows in rainforest and along the edge of forests. In tropical Queensland it grows from sea level to 20 m altitude.
Australia*,
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows 6 m tall. The leaves are simple and 4-12 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. The base of the leaf curves back. There are oil dots and red streaks on the leaves. The leaf stalk is very short. The flowers can be in the axils of leaves or on branches. The flowers have 4-5 petals that can be green, cream or orange. The fruit is fleshy and blue or purple. They are 4 mm long and wide. There is one seed and it is brown. Flora of Australia Volume 49, Oceanic Islands 1, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. (1994) p
Notes
There are between 150-200 Rapanea species. They occur in the tropics. Many are also named as Myrsine. Also put in the family Myrsinaceae.
Names & Synonyms
References (2)
- Cooper, W. and Cooper, W., 2004, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Nokomis Editions, Victoria, Australia. p 336
- Cribb, A.B. & J.W., 1976, Wild Food in Australia, Fontana. p 75
